


How Marilyn Became a Munster

by SgtHakeswill



Category: The Munsters
Genre: Angst, Family, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-09 22:32:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5558018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SgtHakeswill/pseuds/SgtHakeswill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of how Marilyn came to live with the Munsters</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Marilyn Became a Munster

_**Author's Note: I recently binge-watched all 70 episodes of the Munsters. It was revealed that Marilyn was the daughter of Lily's sister. But Lily's sister was not married to Herman's brother, so Marilyn could not have been born a Munster. So, here's a bit of fluff to show how she became a Munster.** _

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Marilyn Jones had lived the entire ten years of her life in the same nondescript house in the perfectly average, middle-class subdivision of Pleasant Valley. The neighborhood was tranquil, with nothing to make it stand out from many other similar neighborhoods all over the United States.

Like the other children in her neighborhood, her life was mostly mundane and unremarkable, where very little out of the ordinary ever happened. No one in the neighborhood had even once suspected that there was something very different about Marilyn and her mother, Ivy.

Though her mother told anyone who asked that her maiden name was Drake, that wasn't true. It was really Dracula. Yes, _that_ Dracula family. Marilyn's grandfather was the famous Count Dracula and he was a real, live...well, mostly...vampire.

Her mother and Aunt Lily both were vampires as well, but unlike her aunt and grandfather, Marilyn's mother took great pains to conceal that fact from the neighbors, using heavy makeup to give color to her complexion. At her husband's insistence, she did everything she could to give the impression that she was nothing other than an average American housewife.

Marilyn's father, Kenneth Jones, was an average guy, who sold insurance for a living and took regular business trips. His status conscious family had disowned him when he'd married Ivy Dracula, so Marilyn had never met anyone from her father's side of the family. And though Kenneth loved Ivy, he'd spent his entire married life trying to be as "normal" as possible, in the hopes of repairing his broken relationship with his parents, while also refusing to have anything to do with Ivy's relatives.

Marilyn had inherited her appearance from her father's side of the family, and her father praised her every time she did something he deemed "normal", that all the other kids in the neighborhood were doing. But, other than that, he spent very little time with her, devoting most of his time to his job.

Early one blustery, overcast Saturday morning, Marilyn was at home alone with her mother. Her father had left the night before for yet another week-long business trip. She was looking forward to a quiet, stress-free weekend with her mother, glad that she'd not have to hear her parents bickering for the next week.

As Marilyn came downstairs for breakfast, she found her mother in the kitchen packing a picnic basket. "Are we going on a picnic?" she asked eagerly.

Nodding, her mother said, "We're going to meet Grandpa, Aunt Lily and Uncle Herman down at the cemetery around noontime. I suggested it to them, considering that it's such nice weather for a picnic."

"It sure is," Marilyn agreed happily. "Maybe, if we're lucky, it'll even start raining!"

"One can only hope, dear," her mother agreed. "I packed your favorite - fried vulture! And, of course, deviled eggs."

"Yum!" Marilyn said. "We only get to eat that stuff when Dad's away, so I'm really looking forward to it. It's Uncle Herman's favorite, too!"

"Hurry up and bolt down your food so we can get ready," her mother urged. "We'll need to get a blanket and put it in the back of the station wagon, some bug attractant, a change of clothes, and a fishing pole, in case Uncle Herman wants to take you fishing."

A few hours later, Ivy and Marilyn unloaded the station wagon after parking near the cemetery's back gates. A hearse was parked nearby.

"I wonder if that's Uncle Herman's car?" Marilyn wondered.

"He borrowed a hearse from the parlor today," her mother explained. "His car is in the shop." Turning to her daughter, she continued, "Leave your change of clothes and the fishing pole in the car for now. Just bring the blanket and I'll take the picnic basket. Don't bring up fishing unless Uncle Herman mentions it first."

"Ok, Mom," Marilynn said agreeably. "I'm just happy to be with family, anyway. I hope they brought Baby Eddie with them."

"Aunt Lily mentioned something about getting a sitter," Ivy told her. "But it's often hard to find a babysitter for a nearly newborn baby."

A moment later, they heard a rustling from a nearby pine tree. As they both looked up, a bat flew out. A big puff of smoke momentarily obscured their view, but as the smoke cleared, Grandpa stood in front of them, replacing the bat.

"Grandpa!" Marilyn cried, running to his open arms. "It's so good to see you."

After giving his granddaughter a bear hug, Grandpa said, "Come on back to the other side of the trees. Lily and Herman are all set up near the Addams mausoleum. Gomez and Morticia Addams were going to join us with their children, but something came up out of the ground and they can't make it, but they said we could picnic by their mausoleum. We were going to have it inside, considering it was forecast to be bright and sunny today, but now that it's cloudy and windy, it's perfect weather to stay outside!"

Marilyn laughed as she began to walk hand in hand with her grandfather through the trees, with her mother bringing up the rear.

They found Lily and Herman Munster just on the other side of the trees by a large, ornate mausoleum, sitting in a dark, shaded area. Baby Eddie was on Lily's lap as she fed him a bottle.

"Good to see you, Ivy," Lily called out to her sister. "You're looking natural."

"As are you," her sister replied. Turning to Herman, she asked, "How are things down at the parlor?"

"They're dying to get in, as usual," he said, chuckling at his own play on words. "Mr Gateman even had to add a new wing just to handle the added business!"

"Can I hold baby Eddie, Aunt Lily" Marilyn asked eagerly.

"When he finishes his bottle of bat milk, of course you can," her aunt said warmly.

Marilyn plopped herself down between Aunt Lily and Uncle Herman, while Grandpa helped Ivy to spread the blanket.

Soon, the family was enjoying the food, as the clouds became darker and faint thunder began rumbling in the distance. The temperature began to drop rapidly as the wind steadily increased.

"I'm going to go back to the car to get our jackets," Ivy told Marilyn. "You stay here and finish eating while I do that. I won't be but a couple of minutes."

"Don't be too long, Ivy," Grandpa said, "Lily's coffin cakes will be all gone if you don't hurry,"

"Don't worry," Lily assured her. "I'll save you a couple of coffin cakes. Take your time."

Ivy hurried off toward the trees and was soon out of sight. No sooner had she disappeared, than a bolt of lightning, followed almost simultaneously by thunder, rent the air.

"Look!" Herman cried out. "The lightning split one of the trees!"

"I'd better go check and see if Ivy is all right," Grandpa said. "Herman, you come with me."

"All right," Herman replied.

Marilyn stood as if to go with them, but Herman said, "Stay with your Aunt Lily and help with Eddie. We won't be gone but just a minute or two."

Grandpa had gone on ahead, not waiting for Herman to lumber to his feet. A moment later, they all heard his agitated voice calling from within the group of trees. "Come quick, Herman!"

Herman took off at a staggering run, but Lily put a hand on Marilyn to keep her from doing the same.

Moments later, Herman came upon Grandpa knelt down beside Ivy, who had been impaled by a fallen branch after lightning had hit the tree it was attached to.

"Is she...?" Herman did not finish the sentence.

"I'm afraid so," Grandpa said dejectedly. "And for good, this time. Branch went through the heart."

Herman helped his father-in-law back to his feet. Patting his shoulder, he said, "You'd better go back and take care of Lily and Marilyn. I'll take Ivy down to the parlor, while you take Marilyn to get some of her things, then take her and Lily home."

"Yeah," Grandpa agreed. "She doesn't ened to see her mother like this." After a long sigh, he add, "I'll see you back at the house later."

Lily and Marilyn looked at Grandpa expectantly as he slowly emerged from the trees.

"Marilyn," he said, taking her hand and leading her to the side of the mausoleum to get out of the wind. "There's something I need to tell you."

Looking at her grandfather in confusiion and concern, Marilyn followed him without a word.

As Lily watched, knowing from her father's expression that it was bad news, Grandpa told her, "Your mother's gone, Marilyn. She died when the lightning hit the tree."

"Died? But she's a vampire!"

Putting his arm around his granddaughter, he explained, "There are a few ways that even a vampire can die for good. And this was one of those ways, I'm sad to say". He didn't elaborate further.

Marilyn threw her arms around him and he wordlessly comforted her for several long minutes. At some point, Lily came to join them.

After an extended interval, Marilyn stepped back. "Where is Uncle Herman."

"He took your mother down to the parlor, where she'll be properly attended to," he sxplained. "We're going to go by your house and get some of your things and then take you home with us. Uncle Herman will meet us there later."'

Lily put her arm around her niece gently, then said, "You can help me take care of Eddie. And we have an extra bedroom that I can fix up to look just like your bedroom at home."

Sniffling with tears, Marilyn didn't reply, but nodded in acknowledgment.

After quickly packing up, Grandpa, Lily, and Marilyn headed to Ivy's car. Marilyn helped with the gear, as Lily was carrying Eddie and couldn't carry much else. As she got into the backseat, she put on her jacket and wrapped herself in a blanket.

They didn't take long once they arrived back at the house Marilyn had shared with her parents for the last ten years. Almost numb with shock, her movements were automatic as she snatched up clothing items from her bedroom and stuffed them into pillowcases Aunt Lily had found in the linen closet.

"Better get your favorite books and toys, too," Lily advised. "You don't know how long you'll be staying with us."

Within a short time, they'd finished and were back in Ivy's car heading to Mockingbird Heights. Lily rode in the backseat with Marilyn, hoping that baby Eddie would help to distract her for a little while, at least.

When they pulled up at the elaborate old Victorian mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Herman was waiting for them.

As they entered the house and Herman stretched down to give Lily a kiss, she gave him a questioning look.

He nodded in understanding, telling her in a soft voice, "Everything is taken care of down at the parlor".

"Why don't you come help me make supper, while your Uncle Herman brings your things in from the car?" Lily suggested to Marilyn. "I'll show you your room later."

"All right, Aunt Lily," Marilyn replied, with no enthusiasm, still functioning on autopilot.

Lily handed off Eddie to Grandpa as they passed through the living room on the way to the kitchen. As Marilyn dropped off some of her things on the couch, a raven came out of the cuckoo clock and squawked, "Who's the little chick?"

Marilyn laughed at this, forgetting her troubles for a moment.

A moment later, a bat flew through the room. Her face lit up again. "I've always wanted a bat as a pet, but my Dad said no, that normal people don't have bats."

Lily and Grandpa looked sideways at each other, over Marilyn's head. They'd heard Kenneth Jones opinions on what he thought was normal before, which didn't impress them.

"This is Igor," Grandpa told her. "And you can play with him, any time."

"Thanks, Grandpa." She hugged him again before heading to the kitchen with Lily.

A few minutes later, as Herman brought in the rest of Marilyn's things, Grandpa told him, "We're going to have to call her bum of a father and let him know what happened to Ivy."

"It can wait until after supper," Herman told him. "I wonder if Marilyn even knows where he went for his business trip?"

"If she doesn't, she has to know where he works and they'll know where he went," Grandpa reasoned.

"Right".

"We'll make the call while Lily is getting her settled in her room," Grandpa decided.

"I'll go ahead and take Marilyn's things upstairs while we're waiting for dinner," Herman said.

Later, after they'd eaten and Lily had taken Marilyn upstairs to her new bedroom, Herman and Grandpa went to the coffin the hall to make the call to Kenneth Jones. After a quick call to his employer, they found him at his hotel in Chicago.

"Hello, Kenneth?" Grandpa said, once he had his son in law on the phone. "I've got some bad news for you. Ivy's been killed in a freak accident. She was staked in the heart by a falling branch from a tree that got hit by lightning." He listened to Kenneth's reply, then elaborated, "Yes, really dead this time. Even a vampire can't survive being staked to the heart."

"What about Marilyn?" Jones asiad. "Did she see it happen? Is she all right?"

"No, she didn't see it," Grandpa replied. "She's here with us and is about as well as can be expected."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "Are you still there?" Grandpa asked.

"Yes...I'm still here," Jones replied. "This is pretty hard to say, so I'll just speak plainly. I was going to ask Ivy for a divorce when I got home from this trip. I've found someone else."

"Why you no-good, dirty, rotten bum..."

"Considering the circumstances," Jones went on, as if h'd not heard Grandpa, "I'm going to release custody of Marilyn to Lily and Herman. Traveling as I do for my job, I couldn't be a proper father to her, anyway. She'll be happier with all of you." After another pause, he added, "I won't be coming back for the funeral, so you can tell Marilyn for me."

"You gutless coward," Grandap shot back. "I ought to turn you into a goat!"

Jones hung up without responding.

Looking disgusted, Grandpa hung up the phone and came out of the coffin booth.

"What is it, Grandpa?" Herman asked. "What did he say."

"That no-good bastard was going to divorce Ivy and now he's abandoning Marilyn as well. He said he's giving up custody of her to you and Lily!"

Herman balled his fists and looked as if he was going to explode. After punching one fist through the wall, he said, "Forget him, I never liked him, anyway. And he wasn't good enough for Ivy. Lily and I will adopt Marilyn and love her, and she'll be happy with us."

"If I ever see that rotten bum again, I'll..." Grandpa fumed, as Lily and Marilyn came down he stairs.

Giving Lily a meaningful look, Grandpa said, "Herman needs to tell you something." Turning his attention to Marilyn, he added, "Let's go into the living room and you can pet Igor."

After the two left, Herman told Lily what Kenneth Jones had told them on the phone. "So, we'll adopt her. I'll be a much better Dad to her than her own father ever was."

"Of course we'll adopt her, Herman," Lily agreed fervently. "I'd told Ivy not to marry him!"

Going into the living room, they found their niece playing with Igor. Herman took a seat on one end of the couch, with Lily taking the opposite end.

Patting the middle cushion, Herman said, "Come sit with us, Marilyn. Your Aunt Lily and I want to ask you something."

"What is it, Uncle Herman?" she asked in a small voice, after taking a seat between them.

"Would you like to stay and live with us for keeps?" he asked. "Grandpa and I talked to your father tonight and he said it would be better if you lived with us, because he has to travel so much with his job and can't make a proper home for you by himself."

"He doesn't want me, does he," she said, hanging her head.

"WE want you," Lily assured her stoutly. "You'll always have a home here with us, no matter what."

"That's right," Herman concurred. "Your Aunt Lily and I will adopt you and you can be Marilyn Munster, if that's what you want."

"Very much!" she exclaimed, hugging them both. "I want to be part of your family and live here with both of you, Grandpa, and Eddie, too."

And, so, Marilyn Jones became Marilyn Munster.


End file.
